


Karma

by imiriad



Category: Kamisama no Iutoori Ni, 神さまの言うとおり - 金城宗幸 & 藤村緋二 | Kami-sama no Iutoori - Kaneshiro & Fujimura
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Post-Canon, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 02:49:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7081882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imiriad/pseuds/imiriad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The name "Ushimitsu Kiyoshiro" is all it takes to bring everything back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Karma

**Author's Note:**

> I promised I'd help to fill the Ushimitsu/Akashi tag with a fic, so here I am! Mainly just spoilers for the Judgement Old Maid game, chapters 150-158, and AU from there.

Akashi Yasuto feels something stirring in the back of his head when he sees the awkward, gangly boy in glasses staring at him across the cafeteria. Three years of middle school, and they've never been in the same class or involved in the same activities. Their paths only cross in the halls between classes, and even if they did see each other elsewhere, well... he was rather forgettable aside from his height. This time, however, their eyes actually meet. Akashi gives him a tight smile, to make the sudden eye contact a little less uncomfortable. He expects him to simply look away, but the other boy surprises him entirely by stiffening, ducking his head down, and scurrying out the door.

The weird reaction makes Akashi think he ought to ask his name later, or at least find out who he is—but the impulse falls away when Aoyama claps his hand on his shoulder and asks about their upcoming soccer match.

Without warning, Akashi remembers the encounter much later, more than a month after their graduation. How could he have let it completely slip his mind...? A bookworm like that was going to get into a competitive high school and a top-rated university. He'd lost his only chance to figure out what that feeling between them had been.

Or so he thinks.

All the first-year students crowd around the bulletin board for their class assignments, buzzing with the excitement for the beginning of high school. As Akashi's eyes scan the list of names, one in particular gives him pause. _Ushimitsu Kiyoshiro_. Though he swears doesn't know anyone called that, his chest tightens when he reads it.

...

" _How about now? Ushimitsu Kiyoshiro?_ " His own voice.

Shocked eyes staring back at him, then turning downward. Fingers clutching cards tight.

A low voice, restrained and determined. Deceiving. " _As you wish—_ "

...

"You're in my class again, Tenma-chan!" Two girls laugh with delight at the discovery, breaking through Akashi's sudden daydream.

He takes in a deep breath, shaken by the unexplained scene, and tries to refocus on the present. The board. Class assignments. Yes, he's looking for his name. One sheet over from the name that had caught his eye is his own, Akashi Yasuto. Class 1-B.

"We're in different classes..." one tall student murmurs with disappointment as Akashi turns away. The timbre of his voice is startlingly familiar, as if he'd heard it only moments ago. Akashi pushes away that feeling, disturbed by it now, and escapes the crowd in earnest.

Anxiety gnaws at his stomach all day. There's a figure standing by the lockers on the way out that mirrors the person in his vision, but Akashi doesn't give it a second glance. It's too weird. Too unbelievable. And it's freaking him out.

 _I'll look into it tomorrow_ , Akashi tells himself, so it isn't like he's running away, just waiting. Tomorrow he'd find this Ushimitsu Kiyoshiro, see that he's a totally different guy, and that it was all in his head. That would be the end of it.

But tomorrow, apparently, isn't soon enough.

...

" _Why won't you give it to me, you dumbass!?_ " Himself, in his most frustrated tone.

Ushimitsu's voice, yelling back with equal fervor, " _I don't want you to die! Isn't that obvious!?_ "

" _I don't want you to die, either! We've lost so many people during this damn game, why does it have to be you, too!?_ " The words are a strangled mess as Akashi holds back another round of tears. He should have been able to do something to change things! Is it really that hard to save someone he cares for? Even when he tries his hardest, fate is cruel—no, not fate. His own lack of ability.

Ushimitsu's eyes widen, then soften. He presses his hand to Akashi's and squeezes it gently. " _You're so kind, Akashi. That's why you deserve to be God. You know that I can't let you die here... If it's you, you'll find a way for everyone to live a good life._ "

" _I don't wanna hear that from you._ " Akashi can no longer stop the tears. One turn left. Not long enough to do anything but let Ushimitsu face the punishment of his cards.

" _Hey, Akashi?_ " Ushimitsu asks with a smile. Even though Akashi can hear the wavering in his voice, he knows that stupid grin is 100% real. " _I know I didn't give you the timebomb card, but... do you think you could kiss me anyway?_ "

Akashi isn't surprised at the last request, and manages to choke out a short laugh as he leans across the gap. " _Stupid. Is that all you can think about?_ "

" _Yeah._ " Ushimitsu draws forward, staring with pure adoration. Happy to give his life for him, without a sliver of regret. " _My mind's totally full of you._ "

Why can't Akashi realize things before the end...? Ushimitsu has always been by his side. First, he had been a simple annoyance. Then, a strong ally... and finally, a true comrade. All throughout, he'd been a comfort in these awful games. He'd been someone Akashi could count on, no matter what, and it surprises him to realize just how much he had been relying on Ushimitsu for support.

Akashi isn't sure how things will be, knowing that he's gone.

But Ushimitsu's hopes, and the hopes of all the others are on his shoulders, now. Akashi will become God, and fix it all. Next time, things will be different. He'll make sure no one would ever have to sacrifice themselves for him again. He'll let everyone be happy. Next time around... he'll make sure he shows the people he loves how much they mean to him, before it's too late.

Akashi blinks away his tears and cups Ushimitsu's cheek.

Ushimitsu doesn't move an inch further, makes sure that Akashi is the one who comes to him. He pushes his lips against Ushimitsu's, clumsy at first, until Ushimitsu turns his face to let their mouths meet fully. Then, emotion takes over, bringing them closer; his arms twist around Akashi's shoulders, tight, clutching at his shirt in a final embrace.

Akashi doesn't think he should pull away just yet, not when this is the last time they'll be together ( _for now_ , he corrects himself). A surge of honest panic rushes through him as Ushimitsu's hands fall from his back, and he begins to withdraw. Akashi doesn't let him leave. He leans forward, hands on Ushimitsu's thighs for balance as he kisses him again, harder. They part slowly. Ushimitsu's smiling, tear-streaked face is handsome enough to make Akashi wonder how he'd picked _him_ of all people.

Ushimitsu holds up a single card. " _I love you, Akashi._ "

Akashi swallows hard, but his voice still comes out raspy. " _I know, you idiot. You always have._ "

As he grabs the card, there's the sudden, irrational hope that Ushimitsu screwed up, or had come to his senses after all and changed his mind. Akashi flips over the card, breath held with the thought that it could possibly be—through some stroke of pure fortune—the 10 of diamonds.

It's the 3 of hearts.

" _Goodbye, Akashi,_ " Ushimitsu says.

Akashi's head is full of all the things he ought to say to him: that he'd miss him, that he didn't want things to end like this, that he would bring him back so he had nothing to worry about, that above all else, he was a fucking idiot, but as Ushimitsu's form flickers before his very eyes, there's only one thing that comes to his lips—

...

"Don't go!" Akashi nearly falls out of his bed, lunging for the fading image. His heart is pounding, his breath heavy, eyes wet with tears, and he just feels so damn confused. He leans back into bed, frustrated at the insanity of it all. It doesn't make any sense why he'd have a dream like that!

He doesn't even know who the hell Ushimitsu is!

Only... that's not true at all anymore, no matter how much it hurts his head and his heart to think about it.

The memories start to fade in, in shoddy patches some places and a stark rush in others, but it's all so ridiculous that Akashi can hardly believe any of it. What's all this supposed to be, anyway? His past life? Even if it was, there aren't any such things as gods or monsters or supernatural powers in real life. And why the hell would someone try to declare a God through a bunch of crazy children's games? Moreover, if his memories really are the truth... that would mean that he became a god, didn't it? Akashi certainly doesn't feel like one now.

The next day, Akashi is filled with nervous energy. Is this Ushimitsu really the Ushimitsu he remembered? And if he is, then... there had to be something to his dreams, as strange as they are. Akashi doesn't know where to begin looking for him once classes end, but before he's turned the corner to the next hallway, that voice is calling for him.

"Akashi!" He freezes at the sound of it. Another vision...? No. It's so much clearer than what he'd heard before. Akashi spins around cautiously, unsure what to expect. The young man standing in front of him is entirely real, a dead ringer for the Ushimitsu in his dreams. It's relief and terror at once. _It was real!_ and _How could it be real?!_ echo in Akashi's head as he stares wordlessly.

With a shock, Akashi realizes Ushimitsu is not just that. So much has changed—the thick glasses are gone, hair styled, and his body now filled out his uniform nicely—but Akashi can still recognize him as the boy from middle school who had always been watching him. Does he know about their connection? Did Ushimitsu see those same visions as him? Or is this purely maddening coincidence?

Ushimitsu steps forward, uncertainty crossing over his face, lips twitching with unspoken words. Then, he finally confesses, "For a long time, I've wanted to tell you that... I think that you shine brighter than everyone else. You're the reason that I came to this school. I thought I would be happy just observing your brilliance, but I don't think that's enough anymore." Suddenly, Ushimitsu drops to one knee and looks at him with intensity. "Would it be okay, if I... Ushimitsu Kiyoshiro... fell in love with you?"

Somehow, the second time around, Ushimitsu seems even more hopeless than in his memories. Akashi claps a hand over his mouth before he bursts out laughing. Chuckles escape through his fingers anyway. Ushimitsu's mouth twists into a sulking frown, but Akashi is still unable to stifle his giggles.

He laughs so hard he cries, and then, it's the tears that won't stop.

Akashi had done everything he could as God to make sure everyone had their happiest, most fulfilling lives. It was the least he could do for all of his comrades, after seeing their pain, after being shielded by them. But in the end, there was one person who couldn't be satisfied with something as perfect as that...

An idiot who only wanted one thing, and nothing else.

Ushimitsu's hands press against his back, holding him steady. "Are you alright?! D-did I say something wrong?" Ushimitsu's expression flickers between confused and concerned so quickly that it almost sends Akashi right into another giggle fit.

Akashi disguises his last snicker with a cough and straightens. "No, I'm alright." He wipes his face clean with the end of his sleeve, and pats Ushimitsu's shoulder reassuringly. No more than a few minutes could have passed, but the uneasiness that had been dwelling in Akashi's chest shifts into a familiarity that's warm and comforting.

This time, Akashi gives him a proper answer. "I think it'd be fine if you did," he says, smiling wryly. "More than fine."


End file.
